Trust gave patient confusing discharge information that led to early removal of protective plaster

What happened

In the summer of 2013, Mrs E went into hospital to have an operation to remove a small bone in her hand. After the operation, the discharging nurse gave Mrs E handwritten aftercare advice to make an appointment with her GP and have the wound reviewed in one week. Mrs E subsequently went to her GP and the protective plaster was removed. When Mrs E returned to the hospital the following week, the therapist queried why the plaster had been removed and reapplied it.

Mrs E's husband complained to the Trust on behalf of his wife that removing the protective plaster early, in line with the discharge advice the Trust gave her, meant his wife suffered pain that could have been avoided.

The Trust apologised and paid Mrs E compensation of £250 for the pain and distress caused by the inaccurate discharge information and lack of communication from the patient experience team. Mrs E was dissatisfied with this response and came to us.

What we found

We partly upheld this complaint. Although the operation was carried out to Mrs E's satisfaction, it was clear that the discharge summary form template was ambiguous. The discharge nurse then made things worse when she gave Mrs E unclear and confusing written advice that led to the protective plaster being removed eight days early. Although this did not affect the final outcome of this operation, it meant that Mrs E had eight days of additional pain. We felt that the £250 compensation paid by the Trust was reasonable in these circumstances.

Putting it right

The Trust told Mrs E about the service improvements it had made in light of her complaint.